I had some pleasant visits to the stone age this week.
A couple of weeks ago, I made an atlatl out of an approximately 30 inch piece of maple from a recalled crib, with the spur from an arrow point from a damaged arrow and the handle from drawer liner. And then I bought some bamboo stakes at Home Depot, straightened one over an alcohol flame, fletched it with duct tape, and sharpened the end. Not exactly stone age materials, but it was more convenient this way.
It was only this week that I had a chance to try out the equipment at the range, both by myself and with my son. I can throw 5.5 foot dart about 50 yards with the atlatl. There is something rather magical about this long dart snaking through the air with only a little leverage. (I also tried a much shorter dart, under 4 feet, but it flew terribly. Sometimes it would flip over backwards.) My accuracy leaves a lot to be desired, but at least I can occasionally hit the target boss at ten yards. The rest is a matter of practice, I suppose.
